


Tale of Gold

by princess_armin



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fem!Armin, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Humor, M/M, Magic, Pirates, and lesbian mermaid!ymir, baby!Annie, gay mermaids for all, i had a mighty need for thief!historia, thieves, ymirmaid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-08-14
Packaged: 2018-01-16 05:14:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1333324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princess_armin/pseuds/princess_armin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Out of the corner of her burning eyes she saw a flick gold. But there isn’t any gold… Where could that…? The question remained silent in Historia’s mind as she saw it again, but it wasn’t just flakes of gold. It was a tail of gold.</p><p>Historia Reiss is hell for pirates, but heaven for mermaids.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Stowaway Thief

**Author's Note:**

> how the fuck do you write summaries.
> 
> Do you ever just get inspired by mermaids and lack of sleep? apparently I do. Woo.

Historia Reiss was hell for most pirates. This girl was a Class A thief when given the opportunity; she was renowned for sneaking onto ships, usually pirate ships, and robbing the ship owners blind. She would take everything she could fit into her bag and would get off as soon as the ship docked. “The Stowaway Thief” some would call her, not that she minded, any insult to her was recognition in her eyes.

The thief was beautiful. She was small, just less than 5 feet tall, but she had large blue eyes that were like pools of the most beautiful lagoons, and her hair was blond and came straight to the middle of her back. She would always wear a white button up shirt with a dark leather corset, a pair of black pants that clung tightly to her legs, and finally a pair of brown boots. Her hair, depending on if you met her when she was “working” or when she was “off”, it could either be up in a low ponytail or a tight bun for her job, but “off hours” it was always down and free where it could blow in the wind.

It seemed to be a Tuesday when this tale began, and it starts with the oddest coincidence. The ship she boarded as a stowaway in the cargo section was _The Maria_ ; the ship was captained by the pirate Dot Pixis, a man old in his age but still with plenty of fight left in him. Pixis alone was an alright fellow, he was always kind to most people he met, but if you were an enemy of his you would want to hide. Pixis was a skilled fighter and not only him but his second in command, Rico, was as well.

On _The Maria_ , Historia hid in the far back section of the cargo hold behind crates that held food for the crew within. She sat there for hours, only occasionally taking out a pocket watch to check the time to see when it would be time for the evening to hit.

Her blond hair at this point was up in a bun which was tied back by a short piece of black ribbon; her eyes stared directly at the latch door to make herself certain no one would come in and, of course, to find the best way out.

Basic knowledge of pirates informed one that most of the captains were not only greedy, but untrusting of their crew. This fact Historia knew led to most of the valuable possessions of the ship to be hidden in the captain’s quarters. The pocket watch ticked slowly until the clock read midnight and that’s when Historia stood. A small smile formed on her lips as she made a b-line to the latch door that led from the cargo compartment to the deck of the ship; if her calculations were correct the ship would just be changing from the day crew to the night crew.

Quietly she opened the door and peaked her blonde head out the door and looked all around, no one was in sight. “Good timing today,” She muttered under her breath as she stepped out onto the wooden deck. The first plank she stepped on made an eerie squeak causing her to pause, she focused her hearing best she could to make sure no one heard her small mishap. She was kindly greeted by silence.

Forward she moved with swiftness in her step, careful to avoid any unwanted eyes as she made her way across the front of the deck to the captain’s chambers. Nearly to the door she heard the sound of a loud yawn on the deck above, more than likely belonging to the man behind the wheel of the ship. Her small body quickly ducked behind the stairs that led to the upper deck for a safety measure just in case the man would look over the railing to look for thieves.

 _No one is crazily paranoid, this seriously is my lucky day,_ she thought as she looked over to the door to the captain’s chamber. It was a regular door, like one you might see in a wealthy person’s house, with a golden knob and key hole beneath.

This is where things get sticky. Historia was fast, something that was very useful for a ship robber like herself. She had to make her timing and speed precise; she would have to pick the lock, get in the room, if the captain is sleeping maneuver around him; if the captain is awake try to avoid his sight; if the captain sees her she has to take him out, then she gets free picking to whatever she wished.

She took a deep breath to fill her lungs and she reached around her and grabbed her sack that she would fill with riches. In the bottom of the empty sack lay her lock picker which essentially was a thin piece of metal bent in certain spots to act as a key. The sack usually also contained a long sword, but on this particular day it sat in its sheath which was attached with a belt to Historia’s small waist.

The girl crept up to the door and set to work with the lock pick; it only took her three tries to get the lock to click. She gently turned the knob with an acute precision to not make any loud sounds; agonizingly slowly she opened the door to reveal a large room. The room contained a large table, probably with a map and a compass on it so Pixis could plot their next hit. On the eastern most end sat a cot and on the western most end sat a pile of riches.

The riches were multiple objects, some were just chunks of gold that were probably gold teeth from dead men, some were pricey dishes and cutlery, some were pearls and precious jewels, and some were art. Exquisite paintings lay in next to the gems; the paintings depicted different images, some were landscapes and some were paintings of women. Only one out of the five paintings of women depicted a woman wearing clothing, and even then it was a very revealing gown. _Men,_ Historia thought with a roll of her eyes. She looked away from the pile of sparkling treasure to find were the mastermind of the ship was…

_Why isn’t he here?_

Confusion set in as she realized not a single person occupied the room other than herself. The captain should be in here or at least a second or third in command should be here. _Someone should be here to protect the damned fortunes!_ Her mind screamed, but despite Historia’s distaste of _The Maria_ ’s security of the vessels wealth, she still sat alone in the room. Unease set into her stomach but she was already in the room and already alone, so she crawled over to the pile of wealth and began to make her picks.

She left the paintings alone since she found all of them to obnoxious distractions for not only her but anyone who would own it. Her hands dug into the gems, in just a few minutes she found her sack half full of emeralds, rubies, diamonds, and a winning majority of pearls.

Her index finger made its way to her mouth as she gently chewed trying to decide on what next to pick. _Gold or plates and forks?_ Historia’s mind wondered, _Though the plates are rather lovely they could probably break by the time I get to shore... But I don’t really want teeth, that’s really disgusting._ She pondered for a few more precious minutes as she finally decided to sift through the gold to retrieve some of the golden nuggets before filling the sack with silver and gold forks, knives, and spoons.

The blonde’s body turned to face the door to see if anyone were there when she heard it. It sounded like pounding of feet coming up from where Historia assumed the kitchen and crew quarters were. The thief’s face drained of color as she dove under the table hoping the white table cloth covered her well enough.

The door opened and a duo stepped inside. “You drink too much, sir.” Came a female voice as soon as the door was closed.

“Eh? Probably, but I say I can drink however much I want as long as I’m not dead.” Replied a male voice, the voice had a ragged tint to it that could only belong the captain who followed his remark with a steady chuckle. “Oh come now, Rico, don’t look so mad. You need to loosen up some more or people will start to think you live with sticks up your ass.”

“I’d rather have people believe I have sticks up my ass than that I’m a drunken buffoon.” The woman, Rico, stated.

Historia tensed up at realizing that she wasn’t only locked in a room with Captain Pixis, but that she also with the woman nicknamed “Ravenous Rico” for her lack of mercy when fighting. Why lack of mercy equaled in to the term _ravenous_ always eluded Historia, but she sure as hell didn’t want to find out why.

 _A distraction, if only I had a distraction._ Historia began plotting ways to get the duo that represented _The Maria_ out of the room. First her thoughts consisted of throwing one of the jewels out to the pile to make a commotion, but Pixis was smart and could probably figure out that the pile didn’t just have some of it casually fall and become a ridiculously smaller pile. _Maybe I can come out fighting?_ She thought and had to suppress a laugh, fighting Rico _and_ Pixis would more than likely be suicide. _I guess I can just wait it out until they fall asleep…_ She thought. And wait she did.

It took an hour of idle chit chat between the captain and the first mate before Rico eventually left to get some sleep herself. Then followed another hour with Pixis pacing the room and muttering things to himself. 

Finally Pixis stopped walking in front of the significantly smaller pile of gold and other such prosperous objects. “Ah, I was wondering why someone was in here.” He finally said, Historia’s heart leapt into her throat. “To rob me was it? I guess Rico is right, I’m not the most observant man to the obvious, but I can tell when someone is hiding in my own room. So, please, Master Thief, will you make yourself known to me? I’m sure you’re a proud gentleman who would at least like recognition for the robbery before… Well, whatever happens to you?”

 _‘Before you die,’ he means,_ Historia amended the older man’s statement mentally, she sighed loudly wishing, just wishing, she is just having a nightmare down in the cargo storage but after a quick pinch of the arm she was reminded that no, she wasn’t dreaming. At a gradual pace she crawled out from under the table to stand with her sack over her shoulder to face the man that was already plotting her execution.

“Captain Pixis, I would like to remark on your talent for noticing my presence, but, sir, don’t always assume a person is male because they managed to stay hidden on your ship for so long.” She placed a smirk upon her lips as Pixis’s eyes widened.

“Rather rude of me to think that, eh?” He asked before laughing a cheery laugh, “Now, dear… why, what is your name, girl?” The captain pulled out a chair before sitting down on the plush surface.

Now that Historia was no longer hiding she got a full look at the old captain: he was wrinkled and sun scarred, his head was a shining bald while his outfit looked almost like a military uniform from a different time. The outfit consisted of white pants that, one can assume, from use over time were a dirty white from being outdoors so often, he wore a matching white shirt but he wore a black vest over the shirt that matched his boots that came just a bit past mid-calf, and a large jacket that was green and black and that came to the old man’s knees.

 _Quite the impressive ensemble,_ the blonde thought. “My name? Why I’m honored that the great Captain Pixis of the ship _Maria_ cares to know my name but I fear that is a secret for another day good sir.” She responded gently using her kindest voice; if only she could get out of this room somehow and find a new hiding place she would be free.

“Hmmm, so you would rather remain nameless?” He countered.

“Precisely,” Historia answered with the clap of her hands and a grin that revealed pearly white teeth.

“So be it, you may be the female thief that died on _The Maria_.” The smile was quickly ripped off of Historia’s face by the old man’s words as he reached his hand to his cot where his sword lay. Historia was quicker; she pulled hers out of its sheath and raised it in front of her body, her legs speedily adjusted to a defensive stance.

“Don’t test me, old man. I would hate to leave your crew without a captain because he challenged a stronger opponent.” The words poured out of her lips, a grimace sat itself down onto her features.

Pixis chuckled at the sight before him which turned into a full blown laugh. “Thief, you’re about the size of a ten year old, you do not scare me, nor will your wrath frighten my crew.” He spat at the short blonde.

He shot his arm forward, sword in hand. Historia jumped back at the sudden assault, just barely missing the sharp end of the blade, and after taking only a moment to get herself in her fighting stance, one foot out to her left and the other in front, her two legs forming a 90 degree angle. She pushed her weight onto the foot in front, leaning forward with her sword out attempting to reach the older man’s throat. Pixis swung his sword in a fashion that appeared to be done lazily; hitting the girl’s weapon and making a loud clashing sound.

Historia brought her arm back for but a second before going to slice Pixis’s side, an attack that was quickly deflected by Pixis’s sword.  The bald man’s mouth formed into that of a smile, the raise at the corners of his mouth making his mustache rise just slightly making the expression almost comical. “Miss, you are truly against death by sword, aren’t you?”

“Not many people wish to die.” She answered dully as she studied the man’s stance. He was perfectly balanced, both hands clasped the metal sword he held, and his feet formed a stance that consisted of one foot forward and one behind making it appear like he was ready to bolt at the thief. The girl took a few steps back as Pixis lunged at her, one hand dropping the sword so he can reach out farther. The tip of the blade nicked Historia’s cheek causing her steps to falter for only a moment. Despite the injury being small Historia never responded well to sudden injuries.

Pixis took advantage of her pause and raised his sword to cut her down, but Historia was fast. She raised her blade when Pixis’s came crashing down. The two stood like that for what felt like an eternity, the old man’s arm being a crushing weight on the young girl’s smaller arms, but they both held their ground before Pixis slid his blade away from Historia’s making a shrill cry from the two pieces of metal.

This was the opening she was waiting for; the man was slightly turned away as his arm was pulled back, probably preparing for another serpent like attack, but despite the speed, the attack would come at he still left himself wide open.

Historia shot her arm forward, but in spite of the fact that if she wished she could easily have stabbed Pixis in the stomach, her arm went for his sword handle. She cut his flesh as she swung the blade out of his hands, sending it flying across the room so that it landed by the table she had been hiding under just minutes ago. Pixis’s face lit up as she did that— _wait, what? Why is he smiling?_ She thought quickly, looking at the man’s quizzical expression. But then it hit her. Literally.

He wasn’t look at her. He was looking _behind_ her. The butt of Rico’s gun hit her in the back of the neck hard, the lights quickly going out as she fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.

***

The cage was the first thing Historia noticed as she opened her eyes. The second was that she was being watched by three figures. Out of the three she recognized Captain Pixis, but the other two she wasn’t certain who they were. The one closest to the captain was a woman, she was probably a just bit over 5 feet and her eyes were covered in a pair of spectacles; her hair was grey like that of an old woman. Next to her stood a man who had just an inch or two over her in height; his eyes reminded Historia of storm clouds and his hair was left somewhat long despite that the underside was shaven. His mouth was twisted downward in a frown, generally looking upset and angry, or annoyed.

“Rico, I think Rivaille can take care of this,” Pixis was saying to the girl, Ravenous Rico as it seemed, who looked distrusting at the slightly taller male, Rivaille, Historia assumed. The captain ignored her distasteful look. “He isn’t as incompetent as you think.”

“I know, sir, it’s just… He hasn’t been a part of the crew for as long as you should like for him to be watching over a prisoner before her execution.” Rico began to point out other reasons why this Rivaille or Ravioli or whatever Pixis called him shouldn’t watch over Historia, but all she could hear was “her execution” over and over. _Is this seriously it? I’m going to die on some stupid ship because I was too confident? Seriously?_

“I know what are the right and wrong decisions for this ship Rico, so please be quiet. I am an old man and I have seen prison guards be the best as new crew members rather than the most senior of this ship. And even if he lets her out, where would she go? She is on a ship in the middle of the damned ocean.” The captain argued with his first mate, and finally he grabbed her hand. “Just come with me. Rivaille, I leave our prisoner in your capable hands.” He said and dragged Rico out of the room.

Rivaille looked around and waited for their footsteps to fade before crouching down, “So you’re the Stowaway Thief?” He asked before adding, “I know you aren’t sleeping so give up the act.”

Historia raised her head off the floor of the cage to look at the man and stare him down. “Yeah I’m what they call the Stowaway Thief. What’s it to you?” She asked, certainty in her voice.

“When you were looting the ship did you see a book?” The man asked. It caught her off guard.

“A book? You got to be more specific than that,” She countered. _What does he want with a book?_

“It would be large and old; it would have a painting of what could be seen as a mermaid or a monster on the cover.” Rivaille said with a small look of desperation covering his expression as he explained the book’s appearance. Historia shook her head. The man looked away and hesitated. “How many ships have you looted and not have been found out, as in not getting captured?”

Historia paused, thinking over her answer. She never really thought about keeping track of how many ships she had stolen from. “I’m not certain… about a hundred I guess? Why?” She looked critically at the man as he cocked his head to the side.

“I ask because if you can be helpful to me, I might be helpful to you.” He said. He received a confused stare from the girl in return and he continued. “Tonight this ship is getting attacked by monsters. If you see one, do not fight it. Tell it that Levi wanted to recruit you.” And that was all he said before he stood and walked to the door, then standing there as a guard would to keep watch.

The two sat like that for what felt like hours, Rivaille in his stoic silence and Historia quietly observing her surroundings. Rivaille was the first thing she took notice of. He looked calm with his arms crossed over his chest, but he gave away what Historia interpreted as nerves by his constant foot tapping on the wooden floor in an unceremoniously beat.

Next, her attention was drawn to the cage and then to the room she was locked in. The cage looked like that of an animal, it was small but the metal felt sturdy under her fingers. _They probably got this off of a merchant’s ship; I hear some merchants sell wild animals collected from India._

The room for which she was locked in was another story. It was the size of an average bedroom but it lacked any distinguishable features. It was totally blank, the room lacked windows or anything in general, it had a door that led to who knows where and it held a cage. That was about it.

Historia’s attention was finally ripped away from studying her surroundings when she felt the ship heave, almost like it was being pushed. The blonde’s eyes widened as the ship lurched yet again. A smirk appeared on Rivaille’s face. He glanced over to her. “I’ll be back, but remember what I said.” That was all that left his lips before he disappeared out of the door.

“Wait! Are you seriously going to leave me locked up in here? Hey, I’m talking to you!” Historia shouted when the door slammed back into place.

The ship’s jerking seemed to get more intense, enough to send her cage to the other end of the room. Along with her cage came a pair of keys.

 _Are those… Did he seriously leave me the keys?_ Historia thought hastily.

She reached her arm out of the bars and tried to grab the keys, which were a mere few inches away, but then the ship swayed sending her, the cage, and the keys away. Again she tried for the keys and again they were just out of reach.

Historia scanned the room again, _nothing I can use to get these damn keys,_ she noted as she began to examine her person, trying to find something she can use. _Shoes? No, too flimsy. If only I had my sword this would be child’s play…_

“Wait, that’s it!” Historia looked down and a grin slid onto her lips, her sword and sheath were gone, but she still wore her belt. She removed her belt despite the ship rocking again sending the keys and herself a distance. The keys now stood about eleven or so inches away.

The blonde’s tongue poked out of her mouth as she prepared to throw the end of the belt with her belt buckle to hook the keys. First try; miss. Second try; miss. Third time, a sweet melody of the clanking of the belt buckle and the keys rang in Historia’s ears. “Thank god, now let’s rope it in,” she whispered and steadily began to pull the belt, now with keys attached to the end, back into the cage.

In the silence that followed her concentration Historia heard what sounded like fighting outside. Not just a simple trouble making crew member fight, but what could be described as a battle; the sounds of shouts and screams, canon fire, and the clanking of weaponry could be heard through the wooden door. “Must be some monsters,” she whispered as her mind raced to Rivaille’s words.

After a few moments of stern concentration, Historia pulled the keys into her cage. After a quick prayer to thank every god and goddess she could think of, she unlocked the cage door with a satisfying _clink_. After removing herself from the small cage Historia quickly cracked her back and then added the belt back to her wardrobe for her pants.

“Now I just need to find my sword and my loot and then a way off this god forsaken ship…” As soon as she said these words the door opened. “Wait! I’m on your side,” she quickly shouted thinking back to Rivaille’s warning earlier, “L-Levi wanted to recruit me!”

“Heh, so you really are a traitor?” A bloodied Rico questioned as she entered the room, “As soon as we spotted that ship on the horizon I knew it was your fault. You brought them here didn’t you?” The grey haired woman clutched at her arm that was obviously wounded, but she still held her sword and a gleam of sheer hatred could be seen in her eyes.

“I really have no idea of what you’re talking about,” Historia answered honestly. Rico spat at the blonde’s feet.

“Bullshit! You’re one of them, aren’t you? You’re one of the mermaid thieves!” By this point Rico appeared to be shouting nonsense at the smaller girl who just stared at the odd battered woman. “Don’t look at me like that you monster!” she screamed as she pointed her sword at Historia. It seemed like time paused as she ran at the blonde and rammed her sword through Historia’s shoulder.

The blonde screamed right as a canon hit the room the female pirate and herself were in, creating a giant hole from the cannon ball that whizzed right by the two girls. Rico’s eyes widened as water started to flood into the room, ripping her sword from the smaller girl’s shoulder she ran out the door, whether to fight or to find an escape boat Historia knew not. All she knew was that she was bleeding and the pain was intense, and that she had fallen.

Her face was pressed against the now wet boards that were quickly filling the room; her hand clutching her injured shoulder. The water level quickly rose until Historia had to push herself up so she wouldn’t drown. _So is this it?_ She thought; _I die on a sinking ship because I got too cocky with my thievery?_

The water level was now to her chin. After taking a quick breath of air Historia’s whole being was submerged in water. The salt water burned her wound but she didn’t dare gasp at the pain, she had to conserve her remaining oxygen.

What was probably only short moments felt like hours to the thief.

The room filled completely with water, _the whole ship is probably under,_ she assumed, so she sat holding her breath waiting for whatever end was fit for her. But then something strange happened. Out of the corner of her burning eyes she saw a flick gold. _But there isn’t any gold… Where could that…?_ The question remained silent in Historia’s mind as she saw it again, but it wasn’t just flakes of gold. It was a _tail_ of gold.

The tail was long and it appeared to be covered in scales that alternated from a golden hue to that of deep yellow. The scales became more scarce as it came up to tan freckled hips; some of the scales and definitely the freckles littered the tan body’s flesh, even going as far to the back to meet up with a golden dorsal fin.

Historia’s eyes traveled up the rest of the body meeting tan freckled breasts that were covered by nothing, then a neck with gills opened wide for the creature to breathe. Finally there was the face staring at her. The dark lips were not what caught the girl’s attention, nor was it the freckled cheeks, nor the scales on her face. It was the golden eyes that seemed to pierce through the dark ocean and hit Historia, brown hair floated around the fish woman’s face as she cocked her head to the side.

 _So this must be how I die, in front of this beautiful… mermaid?_ Historia thought and then laughed. Her laugh sounded so dead under the weight of the sea, and like that she gave up the remainder of her air. Historia cursed her body as it forced her to take in more air, causing her to breathe in water and choke. She was already light headed from the lack of air, but adding the water in her lungs was too much. She felt her consciousness float away, but before she truly was unconscious she saw a pair of freckled arms reach out and grab her.


	2. Island of the Mer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Historia wakes up and meets some bitches and some fishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hi, sorry for taking so long on updating! I'm gonna work on that... Anyways, hope you all enjoy!

Historia laid on her back, eyes closed as though she was in a peaceful sleep. Her shoulder was bandaged and the bleeding had stopped; she rested on a small bed covered by a cotton blanket. “Don’t wake her,” she heard a female voice say, “She needs to rest.”

“Look, Armin, I just want to double check that she didn’t see the book on the ship.” A deep male voice argued back.

“I told you, she didn’t see it.” Another man muttered—Historia was sure this one was Rivaille. Historia’s eyes fluttered opened, her blue eyes look up to a blonde woman sitting in a chair beside her. The woman’s stomach was large, revealing a long pregnancy; her eyes were blue like Historia’s.

“Oh, are you waking up?” The woman turned to Historia with a gentle smile. Historia set her hands behind her to push herself up and off the soft pillows; the woman helped her up to where she was able to sit up.

“Where am I?” Historia asked as she rubbed her forehead in an attempt to make her remember. _Last thing I saw was that… thing._ “Who are you people? Where did that mer-creature thing go?”

The woman smiled, “ _Mer-creature_ ; what a very appropriate word. Despite popular belief, not every mer-creature is a mermaid. There are mermen, but people just slap them under the label of mermaid and I think that is so rude!”

“You’re rambling,” Rivaille stated, eyes piercing through the woman.

“Ah, I guess you’re right. Well, we should introduce ourselves,” the woman paused, watching the larger blond man nod before she continued, “I’m Armin, that one over there” she pointed to Rivaille, “is Levi, and the other guy is Erwin,” Her hand gestured to the other male in the room. “So who are you?”

Historia paused at that. _I have no reason_ not _to trust her with my name… but I also have no real reason_ to _trust her, or the other two for that reason. Hell, Rivaille—Levi, whatever, didn’t even tell me his real name._ “My name?” She asked; the blonde woman nodded with the same smile pressed to her lips. “It’s… It’s Krista. Krista Lenz.”

“Well, Krista, you should rest.” Erwin, finally spoke. His voice was deep and booming, almost like one a commander of an army would use. “You were stabbed while we were taking the ship, our doctor treated you, but you will need rest.” He reached down and grabbed Armin’s hand in his as she stood.

“I’ll be back to check up on you soon.” Armin said as her and Erwin left, Levi stayed lingering for a moment. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then closed it, the raven haired man’s eyes locked with Historia’s before he left.

“…Don’t ruin all of this for us.” Levi muttered as he left the room leaving Historia alone to her own devices. All alone she sat, trying to gather her bearings, her eyes travelling all over the room but constantly darting back to the door.

 _I could make a run for it,_ she thought, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She no longer wore her pants and shirt but now wore a cotton dress in the hue of a light blue, _probably Armin’s_ , she assumed. When she stood, she wobbled only slightly, she expected to be on a ship but instead the ground was solid, not rocking. _Land, I must be on land. Well, at least I don’t have to find a way off a ship._

Her pace quickened as she reached the door and opened it, only to be blinded but the rays of the sun shining into her eyes. Historia looked down at her feet trying to refocus her eyes; her feet were bare and sand lay under them on the ground. _Maybe I’m on an island?_ Her eyes readjusted and she looked around, scanning the tropical area.

There were large trees containing different fruits surrounding the small home Historia had rested in, but the farther out she looked the larger the trees became until they looked actually native to the land she stood on. She stood on the beach of an island as she saw the ocean lapping at the ground just ninety yards away. Though the island was strange. Every few feet stood large gaping holes in the ground that were filled with water, almost like they were tunnels connecting to the ocean.

Historia walked on, ignoring the gaping holes in the ground. She walked to the trees surrounding the area, the large trees seemed to impale the blue of the sky, blocking it out and forcing the sky to morph into green leaves. The ground in this area was soft soil that had blotches of sand on it from the beach. Leaves and the soil were smashed under the blonde’s bare feet’s gentle steps. As she traveled through the area she found more and more holes in the vicinity.

There was movement in one of the holes of water to Historia’s left. She turned and nearly screamed as gold eyes stared at her.

“What the hell?” She shouted grabbing her chest as if she could slow her own heartbeat.

“You’re loud,” The gold eyed creature responded, mocking the small blonde’s trek through the trees.

Historia’s eyes widened as she recognized the creature before her, it was the woman with the tail from the sinking ship. “You… You’re the one from the ship!”

“What? No way! It’s almost like I was there!” The creature said with thick sarcasm in her tone. Her brown hair was loose and reached just past her shoulders; her tanned features twisted into a grin as Historia frowned.

“You don’t have to be an ass.” She muttered in response to the creature that flicked the tip of its caudal fin. The creature rested its head on its arms, its golden eyes trailing up and down Historia’s body, its eyes landing on her legs and staring almost enviously at them.

“So you woke up,” The creature stated bluntly, “Hanji said she thought you might end up in a coma. Don’t know why, I mean you only drowned.”

“‘Only drowned’, wow, aren’t you a sweet heart,” Historia countered at the creature earning her a grin from the mermaid. “Anyways… can I know the name of my savior?” she asked.

“Hmm? Eh, I guess I can tell you, it’s Ymir. Now can I know the name of my damsel in distress?” Historia laughed at the creature—Ymir. Ymir smiled back at her, the mermaid’s white teeth shined in the slim rays of sunlight from a break in the trees.

“I’m Krista, Krista Lenz.” Historia responded, she was getting used to saying her new name. _Krista Lenz… Not the worst name ever; it’s cute and has a nice ring to it._ Historia thought as she sat down, dipping her muddy feet into the pool of water surrounding Ymir. The mermaid grabbed Historia’s feet which caused Historia to shout. “Wh-What the hell are you doing?”

Ymir looked at Historia like she was an idiot, “I’m cleaning your feet dumb ass,” she dunked the blonde’s feet underwater and began to rub them gently with her webbed hands, slowly removing dirt.

“But _why_?” She asked. It felt strange, the mermaid’s hands felt like seaweed as the rubbed the girl’s pale feet. Long claws were there where nails would be and Ymir used them on the bottom of Historia’s feet to get caked mud off.

“Because one, I like feet, two, because your feet will muddy and that’s just gross—god I _have_ been around Levi too much—and three, because you need to relax.” The mermaid answered as she lifted Historia’s right foot into the light to inspect it. Her clawed hand spread Historia’s toes to see if there was any more dirt. The blonde wiggled her toes causing Ymir to drop her foot. “God that is so weird, like how do they move?”

Historia released a small giggle, “You’re scared of toes?”

“No! Well, not really. I just don’t really get them; I mean legs are cool and all but _toes_. They’re like stumpy fingers and that’s just so… ew.” She answered as her eyes lowered to look at the toes before her.

“My toes are ‘ew’? I’m offended,” Historia said, Ymir looked up at her and stuck her tongue out.

“You should be,” she responded as she splashed Historia’s feet one last time, “I declare these stumpy hands clean. You’re welcome blondie.”

Historia’s lower lip jutted out in a fake pout, “My name isn’t ‘blondie’, Ymir.”

Ymir chuckled, “Well then, your feet are done madam Krista Lenz.” The two smiled at one another and continued their fake bickering for just a while longer before Ymir interrupted. “You should probably head back to the cabin-house-thing. It’s getting dark and you have food to eat and people to meet.”

“There are more people here?” Historia asked the dark haired woman, Ymir merely nodded in response and dived down into the strange pool leaving Historia alone as orange from the sunset shone between the trees. The young thief stood and began to walk back the way to what she assumed was the home she was originally at. _I’m alone I could escape now,_ she thought but despite the chance of getting away from the odd group of people she continued on until she saw the small house that was illuminated by candles inside.

She turned the knob on the front door of the house and when she entered she now noticed the giant hole in the living room. The hole was like the ones in the forest, but this one was much larger and was occupied by ten of the mer-creatures.

“You’re back!” the woman—Armin—said with a grin, but she… She had a tail. The tail was a light shimmering blue, like her eyes, but she still wore the white shirt she adorned earlier. Historia’s expression skewered as she tried to think of an explanation for the odd sight before her.

“How did you…?” Historia let the question hang in the air as a boy with a buzz cut to Armin’s right laughed. He was tan and had a tail that was the color copper.

“You act like you’ve never seen a half mer- half human before.” He said laughing hard as another mermaid stared at him.

“Connie you dumbass, she probably hasn’t. God you are so thick skulled.” The mermaid staring at Buzz-cut— _Connie,_ Historia mentally corrected herself—stated as if it were fact, which it was.

“Means a lot coming from you, _Potato Girl_ ,” Connie sneered; the female splashed him with water and laughed.

“Krista,” Armin said again, a smile on her lips from the duo in the corner splashing each other, “Come over here.”

Historia strode over and squatted down beside Armin, she kept her arms low to pull the skirt of the dress down. She pushed her hair over her shoulder and turned to Armin, a fake smile pressed itself onto her lips, “Hello,” She greeted.

“Hi,” Armin responded, “I guess I just wanted to ask you if you like roast and potatoes mainly because that’s what Mike’s cooking everyone tonight and how you liked the island thus far?” The younger blonde turned slightly to see a sandy haired man in the kitchen that was indeed slicing up a roast.

“The island? I didn’t see much of it; I was talking to Ymir most of the time.” The thief eventually answered.

“Ymir talked to you? Huh,” Armin looked away as if in thought.

“What?”

“Ymir just doesn’t usually talk to new people; age has made her more introverted,” Armin laughed, “though she still is social with people she trusts.”

“Age?” Historia questioned the older blonde, “She looks nineteen to me.”

Armin turned to Historia now letting her take in Armin’s words, “She is supposed to look younger than her chronologic age, all mermaids and mermen do. She looks nineteen but in reality she just recently turned six hundred and fifty two.”

Historia’s face drained of color, _Six hundred and fifty two… Six hundred and fifty two. How the hell is that possible? Six hundred and…_ The thief took a minute to process the information. _She is over half a millennium old and she acted like toes are the weirdest thing ever, what the fuck?_

Armin laughed at the shocked girl, “Yeah, mer-people age differently than humans and other creatures. If you want more information on those things you could ask Hanji, she is our doctor and so she actually studies us, as in the mermaids and mermen, so she knows what she shouldn’t do when treating us. It’s actually quite amazing all the information she gathers from her studies, if you want I can see if Hanji wouldn’t mind if you read over the reports she made from her tests on us, they really are interesting you might enjoy reading them, I know I did.”  Historia nodded, she did not actually want to know any more about these fish people but humoring the pregnant woman seemed like the best course of action at the moment.

The duo continued talking, or really Historia continued to listen to Armin as she chattered on about literature that she had managed to collect over the years; Historia was actually amazed at the number of books the blonde woman had managed to steal off of ships. Mike finally turned to the group that was in and surrounding the pool of water, “The food is ready.”

Never had Historia ever see four words elicit such a dramatic reaction from someone in her life, the female mermaid with brown hair tied up in a pony tail that was talking to Connie earlier shot up out of the water, landing just a few feet from Mike, her long green tail slapping the ground forcefully. “I want my plate first,” She said in a surprisingly calm tone, Mike’s lips turned up into a grin as he nodded. He turned to the food and grabbed a porcelain plate off of a stack of other plates ( _Stolen from ships_ , Historia mused) and heaped it up with meat and steaming potatoes. The mermaid took the food and pushed herself to the side of the pool of water and began to chew her food as Mike passed out food for everyone else.

When Historia received her plate she was engulfed by hunger she didn’t know she possessed. _It makes sense; I have been unconscious for who knows how long,_ The young thief thought as she cut into one of the steamed potatoes taking small bites despite her stomachs pleas to eat all of the food at once. As she continued to eat she noticed one of the mermaids was swimming in the pool below all the other mer-people. _Why isn’t Ymir up here?_ Historia thought as she recognized the golden tail as she cut the meat on her plate.

The thief spent most of her meal thinking about why the mermaid that saved her wasn’t up here eating with the rest of the odd people. It couldn’t be that the mermaid couldn’t digest the food, all the other mer-people were eating, some more than others. Historia thought back to what Armin said that Ymir was introverted. _She didn’t seem introverted when we talked earlier… she actually seemed extremely talkative._

Historia watched the flashes of gold in the lagoon of blue beneath her; Ymir no longer seemed to be swimming in endless circles. The blonde had no better description than saying that the mermaid was showing off; she swam as downward at a ridiculous speed until she was out of the light, farther down than Historia’s eyes allowed her to see. Just when Historia was going to look away the golden creature would swim back up again at a speed one could envy, flipping in the water, the end of her caudal fin resting behind her head as she spun making her body into the shape of an “o”.

She then straightened herself out, her gills were wide open as she swam to the wall of the sea cavern, she held on to the rocky wall for but a moment before shooting up. She leapt out of the water, not so much at this point to show off further, but to reach Historia. Ymir slapped back down into the water causing a small wave which the others ignored, a smug grin curled itself on her face as she looked at Historia’s awestruck expression. The brown haired woman swam up to the thief, resting her soaking wet arms on Historia’s legs.

“Watching me, were you?” Ymir asked.

“You’re soaking my dress,” Historia muttered as she reached down to move the mermaid’s limbs from her legs and the cotton dress. Ymir chuckled as her arms kept firm on the blonde’s legs and scooted her body closer, pressing as much wet skin as she could against Historia’s legs just to see the annoyed expression that Historia held. “Now you are just being mean.”

“I am,” The mermaid agreed, “You know I could be even meaner.”

“Oh, how so?” Historia questioned Ymir’s challenge, the corners of her lips pulling up to reveal a small smile.

The mermaid laughed as she swam away from Historia, “Really want to know Krista?” Historia nodded and Ymir reached forward, her hand reached out and the webbed fingers wrapped around Historia’s ankles and she pulled. The blonde yelped as she was pulled into the water, arms flailing as she fell.

The water engulfed her body quickly as she hit, her body reacting on its own as her legs began to kick, slowly but surely propelling her upwards. As her head reached the surface she felt hands grab her and pull her out of the water and Historia gasped in air. “What the hell, Ymir?” a male voice said, the blonde turned and saw the voice belonged to one of the mermen, one with brown hair and vivid green eyes.

“Calm down Eren, we were just playing.” Ymir answered with an expression of boredom on her freckled face, the glint of mischief that was in Ymir’s golden eyes had faded away.

“You can’t just drag her in the water like that,” Eren argued.

Historia finally pushed herself away from the merman. She swam over to Ymir and smiled at Eren, “I’m sorry to have worried you,” Historia began, the pitch of her voice going up slightly as she imitated a voice of pure innocence. “Ymir and I were just playing around, like she said, I was swimming back up to the surface when you grabbed me.” Historia pulled a grin onto her lips.

“O-oh,” Eren stuttered awkwardly, “Then I guess sorry that I over reacted?” The response sounded more like a question than a statement but Historia ignored it.

“It’s quite all right,” Historia responded, she extended her hand, moving the other to keep her floating. “I’m Krista by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Krista, I’m Eren.” The burnet replied, a small lopsided grin forming as he grasped the small blonde’s hand. After he released it Historia, with the help of Ymir, pulled herself up onto the edge of the pool yet again, sitting now in her soaked dress.

“Well, I guess I will leave you two…” Eren mumbled, still looking awkward.

“Alright Eren,” Ymir said, rolling her eyes when he swam to the other end of the pool towards Levi. “Sorry about that, Eren can pretend to be such a hero sometimes.”

Historia laughed, “Like I said, it’s okay. I actually found it a little sweet that he wanted to save me from the big mean mermaid Ymir.”

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious.” Ymir sarcastically responded as she returned to her originally position of her arms being draped over Historia’s thighs.

The thief chewed her lower lip as she thought, finally making up her mind she looked at Ymir and asked, “So what is the deal with the book that you all are looking for?”

“Oh the book? They didn’t tell you? I’m surprised Armin hasn’t annoyed the shit out of you by it, describing every little detail there could be about it.” Ymir said, “The quest thingy for the book is basically the book has magic properties or something like that. It’s rumored that it can change any human or mer person into a being that can live in both water and on land.

“Like Armin, for example. She is half human and half mermaid so because of that her lower half can transform into a tail or legs; hints why she is pregnant and book worm junior isn’t in an egg.” Ymir was about to continue but Historia cut her off.

“Egg?”

“Yes an egg, we’re fish. How the hell could we get pregnant like most mammals?” Ymir sighed, “Mer people don’t do the do like you humans do, the ladies, and some of the males because evolution or something, produce an egg and the fellas that don’t pop out eggs fertilizes them.”

Historia’s eyes widened as Ymir explained, causing the mermaid to laugh. “S-so anyways, the book.” She stuttered.

“Okay so, the book like I said can basically make humans and mermaids halfsies, and we all are after it. Everyone has their different reasoning, like Erwin and Armin want it so they can raise their kiddo on land and in the water if they want, Jean and Marco are after it because they are both fertilizer mermen and if they can’t have a baby they might as well be able to fuck, and Eren and Levi are after the book so they can actually be together. That’s just to name a few.” Ymir finally finished.

“Why are you after it?” Historia finally asked the question that was gnawing at her the whole time Ymir explained.

“Me? I guess you will just have to wait and find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Egg?"


	3. Fishing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Heh, it’s all good, it is kind of hard to tell since Levi is about as romantic as a tuna fish,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned on going on hiatus over the summer. Well that plan went to hell, anywho I hope you all enjoy the chapter and my crappy attempts at humor!

“Why not?” Was the first thing out of Historia’s mouth as she stared at Erwin, her temper rising.

“You're still injured,” He stated bluntly to the small blonde. Historia frowned and attempted to cross her arms but gave up half way through, her shoulder still ached from the wound she received on the _Maria_ , and the swimming after she woke up on the island had reopened her wound.

“I could still be helpful.” She argued, “I’m small and I am a damn good thief, you need someone to steal the book and I can do that.”

“You probably are the best thief we could ever hope to recruit, but Krista your shoulder is injured and that could cause you to mess up and get even more hurt, if not killed.” Erwin sighed as he looked down at Historia, “It’s one raid you’re missing out on and there will probably be more, more that you could participate in if you sit down, rest, and let your body heal. Hanji could tell you that straining yourself out is only making your wound worse if you want.”

Historia knew he was right, but it annoyed her. _I was recruited to help, I don’t want to be just a burden._ She wanted to press Erwin more, but the conversation was getting nowhere and Historia had a good idea that Erwin had already made up his mind. “Look, if it helps there are others that stay back on the island. Armin obviously can’t go and Ymir said she was going to pass on the raid this time so you won’t be alone.”

“Ymir is staying here?” Historia asked; from what Eren had told Historia, Ymir seemed to be a strong warrior for the mer people and was one of the fastest mermaids earning her the nickname of the Dancing Fish. _Why would she stay…? She could be so helpful._

Erwin nodded, looking at the doorway as Armin stepped through. Her hair was down and she wore a long skirt, she smiled over to her husband. “Are you two still arguing?”

“No,” Historia muttered, “I guess I’m staying here.”

“It is for the best!” Armin said, “Plus we get to stay here and” she leaned close to Historia placing her mouth near Historia’s ear in a fake whisper, “we get to eat the best food and no one has to know.”

“I don’t know Armin, you eat some disgusting shit.” Historia bluntly replied eliciting a giggle from Armin.

“It’s cravings, I swear.”

“You liked to eat some of the nastiest things when we met.” Erwin remarked, Historia laughed at Armin’s gaping mouth.

“I did not!”

“But you did. I remember because Mike nearly vomited when he saw one of your concoctions.” Erwin responded and Armin smacked him in the arm while he laughed. Historia smiled at the two as they continued to bicker as she walked outside.

The warm tropic sun greeted her outside engulfing her in heat, she could see the ocean in the distance as waves crashed against the shore and if she turned her head to the east ever so slightly she would be able to see the handmade pier that the Surveyor was docked at. Historia headed into the forest where she and Ymir went to talk and waste the day away, the two had made quite the system for passing time. Historia’s boots smacked the earth floor as she walked through the forest; slowly her view of the sky was being diminished by the trees. She finally stopped when she saw the familiar sight of one of pools, this one shimmering from the gap in the trees that let the light in.

As Historia crept closer as she saw brown hair start to peek out of the water, _Ymir_ , Historia thought with a smile as she sped up her pace to see the mermaid. Finally the head popped all the way out and the thief stopped in her tracks. It was Eren.

“Oh Eren, I thought you were Ymir.” Historia muttered.

“Well hi to you too. No, she is off hunting for some fish, she usually does this Saturday.” He responded while his fingers dug in the dirt in front of him writing random letters in cursive.

“Really? Huh, I guess that makes sense.”

“How so?” The merman asked.

“Well she usually doesn’t eat with everyone so I figured she hunts fish… but only on Saturdays?”

“Mhmm, she is so predictable, she fishes every Saturday and hides it somewhere to eat in the middle of the night. Ymir has some talent for hiding things, I spent the last half century searching for where she hides her fish because why the hell not and I can never find any of them. Ever.” Historia sat down in the dirt not caring if she got her pants dirty, she joined Eren in the drawing of random letters.

“So she hides fish… that’s kind of weird.” Historia muttered as she drew an e to finish off her word consisting of random strung together letters.

“Not really she’s just old fashioned. Back in the day, god I sound old when I say that, anyways, mer-people used to usually hunt fish, but recently most of us have started raiding ships because holy dicks you never realize how good boar meat is until you’ve tried it.” Eren said, his green eyes looking up at Historia as he stopped drawing in the dirt.

“Boar is okay I guess,” Historia responded, “I’m personally fond of pork sausages, which is kind of funny considering…” she trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

Eren’s pointed ears perked up, the scales shining in the dim light, curiosity getting the best of him he questioned the young thief “Considering what?”

“Nothing,”

“What, did your parents get strangled by chain of sausages?” he inquired making Historia busted out in laughter and stared at the merman.

“What the hell, Eren? No, of course not! God, I’m just not interested in men,” She answered, giggles still coming through.

“Oh, well you should have just said that. I was coming up with this whole big conspiracy theory that wasn’t half bad.” The merman said as he boosted himself up so that he sat beside Historia on the earthy floor.

“Maybe you can tell me it one day,” She said staring up at the trees.

“One day,” He nodded; a silence filled the gap in the conversation leaving both of them to stare at the sky from their seats studying the sun and the clouds that they could make out from the trees. “But it’s not a big deal,” Eren finally said.

“Hmmm?”

“About you being attracted to females, I mean. ‘Cause mer-people we don’t really care about that sort of thing and most of the people on this island are mer-people, and a large portion of them are like you. ‘Island of the Mer’ it’s more like ‘Island of the Gays’ to be honest.” Eren answered gently. The two didn’t look at each other, they just continued to stare at the green that seemed to never end despite the gaps of blue.

“What about you?” Historia questioned calmly.

“Eh, I don’t really have a preference if that’s what you mean.” He muttered and Historia nodded.

“So you’re alone,” She concluded with a small nod.

“Alone?” The merman questioned.

“Um… Not romantically involved with anyone I guess.” Historia said as one of the clouds she could see through the gaps in the trees began to shape like a rabbit’s head.

Eren laughed lowly as his eyes met with the rabbit cloud, “You’ve got that wrong actually. Levi and I we… well, we are together. Romantically. Like there isn’t that much sexually two people can do when one is a fish.” Historia’s eyebrows raised and her mouth made an “o” shape as the realization hit her.

“Oh, sorry I guess I never realized,” The blonde muttered.

“Heh, it’s all good, it is kind of hard to tell since Levi is about as romantic as a tuna fish,” Eren responded, his arm wrapping around the thief in a half hug. Historia smiled when Eren released her, "though I don't mind, he is perfect to me in his own weird way."

"But you probably don't want to hear me go on and on about him." Eren concluded, "Like you said you were looking for Ymir and---"

"I never said I was looking for Ymir, I said I thought you were her is all." Historia corrected, cutting off Eren.

"Eh, same difference, but like I was saying before I was ever so rudely cut off," Historia looked away from Eren in a silent apology, "Ymir is probably done fishing now and you can probably find her by the falls."

"The whats?" Historia inquired.

"Krista, you seriously need to walk around more. The waterfalls on the island, they aren't that far from here if you keep walking straight. And you're welcome." The merman finished before diving under into the bottom of the pool heading through one of the water caves beneath the island before the thief could properly thank him. Out of ideas, the blonde started heading to where she hoped the falls would be.

Historia stopped at the top of a knoll, looking downwards she could see a rock face where a stream poured downward. The first of the falls was small, but surrounding it there were larger waterfalls, water splashing downward to smack into other rocks or to hit the sea below. Under the smallest of the falls there was a small rock that one could stand on, there was a small dirt path to it that started on the small hill Historia stood on.

Under the falls the blonde caught the sight of a golden tail. In the ocean below Historia could see Ymir swim, her beautiful scales picking up the light from the sun and reflecting it back. _She truly is a beautiful sight... Especially when she's in the water_. Historia thought, she didn't even realize she was walking down the small dirt path until she felt the spray of water against her skin.

Ymir looked up slightly to see the girl walking down towards the water so she shot up, not one of her usual impressive flips ensued, but just her tossing her head out of the water to greet the thief.

Historia looked at Ymir as she tossed her wet locks of hair out of her eyes, a smile laid on her tan features, her eyes crinkling slightly. "Hey you," Ymir said.

"Hi," Historia shouted back to be heard over the crash of the waterfalls.

"Not that I mind or anything, but why'd you come here?" Ymir asked as she lazy floated up to the small rock face that Historia stood on. The blonde was already soaked from the water, her white shirt sticking to her figure.

"What? Oh, yeah," _Why did I come looking for her? I probably look like a damn lost puppy._ "I-I came here to get you." Historia said thinking fast, her response came out quickly and slightly jumbled.

"Came to get me for what?" Golden eyes stared at the blue, a bemused look graced Ymir's features.

"For the others. They are casting off soon to go on a... Raid? Searching for that book thing? I don't know what you call it. Look, they are leaving soon so you should say goodbye."

"Why? They will be back in a months time. Goodbyes are for when someone passes into oblivion."

"Fine. Whatever. I'm going to say goodbye with Armin. See you later Miss Doesn't Say Goodbye." Historia said turning away.

"Oh come on Krista, don't leave me baby! Could I do anything to make you forgive me?" Ymir said sarcastically, clasping her hands together in front of her chest and batting her eyelashes.

"Well you could start by saying goodbye with Armin and I."

"If it'll make you happy then I will... Miss Says Goodbye Too Often."


	4. Love and Birth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Did you call me a turd?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longish chapter, sorry if that's the bane of your existence. And thank you guys for the over 1000 hits :D

Historia breathed deeply as warm water fell onto her. It had been a month since the Surveyor left in search of the book and supplies, and Historia found herself craving solitude like she used to have back when she was just an ordinary thief... or as ordinary as the Stowaway Thief could be.

Seeking some form of seclusion, Historia found herself at the falls once every few days, whether its just to sit and watch the water or to bathe, really it just depended on the blonde's mood. Today the thief let herself bathe.

 _The water is so warm here,_ Historia thought as she ran her hands through her hair attempting to comb out a tangle. The blonde was soaked from head to toe, her bare skin shining in the light.

The only noise Historia could hear was the sound of birds flying overhead and the splash of water against water and rocks. The thief closed her eyes and imagined she was at a port, a ship about to sail off and there she would be, quiet and sneaking aboard. She could imagine voices of sailors or pirates (she never discriminated on who she stole from) discussing weather patterns and currents, mainly things that would affect sailing.

But that was her imagination and Historia opened her eyes to see that no, she wasn't at a port, but on an island. _What if I hadn't got on the_ Maria _? What if I had got on another ship? The girl pondered, I would probably already have my loot and be bartering with a merchant._ "Heh, that wouldn't be too bad." She said. "I would buy food. Most likely sausages and eggs and I would stake somewhere else out, planning a new raid of my own..."

 _But then I wouldn't have these falls. Or Ymir._ "N-Not that I own her!" Historia sputtered, trying to correct her own thought process. "She's a friend. A great friend! She listens to my complaints and shit, that's nice."

"Forget that." Historia commanded of herself, trying to focus back to cleaning herself. She had dirt on her legs, and so she focused on scrubbing that off, her nails clawed at the mud. _If I make myself bleed I swear to god I will punch someone._ The dried mud eventually flaked away from her persistence and the constant flow of water.

After about an hour Historia stepped out of the constant flow of water to grab her towel to dry herself before putting clothing on. The towel was soft and a little moist from the spray of the water, but it did its duty well enough.

With her body dry and re-clothed, Historia started to head back to the small house on the island. _Armin probably needs help with dinner. Unless she made it already. And ate it already._ The blonde shrugged and walked along the dirt trail through the small forest; over the past month the girl had memorized all the correct turns to take her to all the places she cared to see; the house, the pool her and Ymir usually talked at, and the falls.

 _I wonder..._ Historia thought as she made a detour to the pool, _Ymir might be there and I haven't seen her all day. Though to be honest I was trying to stay away from everyone today._ Leaves crunched under the blonde's feet as she made her way through; most of the trees still held their leaves but a few had fallen, reminding all that autumn is coming.

The pool soon came into view and in that pool, a tan figure resided. Her soaked hair was swiped over one freckled shoulder and her arms were out and resting against the earth floor. Historia smiled as she crept closer and gently poked Ymir in the back of the head with the toe of her boot.

What the hell?" Ymir said as she turned her head to look at Historia, "I could have died, you know."

"I'm sure," The blonde responded as she crouched down.

"Eh, you wouldn't care. Krista, why are you so cruel?" Ymir asked sarcastically.

"Oh shut up you drama queen,"

Ymir cocked her head to the side, "Make me,"

"Maybe I will,"

"Mhmm, I'm sure sweet little Krista would punch me in the face."

"I can and would if you deserved it," The theif responded dryly.

Ymir huffed, "I know that, its called sarcasm deary. You should look it up, I use it a lot."

"What? Really? I had no fucking clue!"

"Now _that's_ my girl!" The mermaid smirked, "I like you when you are crude, it seems so much more real rather than that sweet girl act you try to pull sometimes."

"I do not try to pull a 'sweet girl act,'" Historia said using air quotes.

"Bull shit," Before the thief could open her mouth to argue Ymir continued, "Anyways, how's the shoulder?"

Historia grabbed her shoulder as reflex to the question, "Oh, its fine. The wound hasn't reopened since a month ago and it hasn't hurt." _Much._

"Ay, at least you're making progress with healing and all that shit." The corners of the brunette's lips quirked up in a small smile, "I'm glad you're gettin' better."

"Thanks," Historia muttered, "So, um, see anything cool in the water?"

"You are just fishing for conversation topics, aren't you?" Ymir asked and immediately regretted her wording as Historia started to laugh. "Yes, its so funny, I'm part fish and I said fishing in a sentence. Hilarious. Best joke since the turn of the century."

The theif smiled, "Fuck you, I like your accidental jokes."

"Jokes on you, I planned that." Ymir's gold eyes sparkled with mischeif.

"Oh yeah? You plan every single one?"

"Mhmm," The mermaid looked down and examined her nails, "I stay up every night trying to come up with horrible jokes," She looked up and batted her eyelashes, "I just would do anything to hear Krista's beautiful laugh!"

"Your fake flirting is the worst,"

"Who said its fake?" Historia's cheeks flushed slightly.

"I do, you dick. If you actually were trying to hit on me you wouldn't be such a turd about it."

"Did you call me a turd?"

"I also insulted your fake flirting."

Ymir rolled her eyes, "I told you, I'm flirting with you. You are so fucking dense."

" _I'm_ dense?" The blonde made a shocked expression.

"Mhmm, you are so fucking dense. I could literally say I wanted to kiss your face and you would just laugh it off." Ymir looked down at the water and then back, "Oh Krista! Why do you deny my love?"

"Right," Historia drawled, "You have an undying love for me."

"I can't help it, you have a nice face and a swell personality."

"You think my personality is swell?" Historia threw a hand to her forehead and leaned back, feigning a gasp, "The gods have heard my prayers! Ymir thinks I have a swell personality _and_ a nice face. Please, take me now in the middle of the forest."

The mermaid cackled, "Yes, I will fuck you with my colossal dick. Right here. Right now."

"Oh baby, slow down." The blonde said between laughs, "At least kiss me first, to prove that our love is true! Do you love me, Ymir dearest?"

"I do" Ymir said as she looked over at the smaller girl, a grin still on her face. With one hand Ymir grabbed Historia's hand and pulled her downwards toward the pool and with the other gently slowly pulling the blonde's face so it would be level with her's.

Historia swallowed down a gasp and bit her lower lip, she was mere inches from Ymir. She released her lip and leaned forward, closing her eyes.

Her and Ymir kissed.

And then they heard a scream.

The thief pulled away from the brunette as she looked towards the direction of the scream and back at Ymir, "Armin." The two said at once. Historia leapt up and started running towards the direction the house was in while Ymir dove down into the water. Historia sprinted hard to get to the house, and when it came into view she could see Armin at the doorway.

The pregnant woman was squatted down, her body resting on the door frame, her hands were pressed to her large stomach and she was breathing heavily. The smallest blonde raced up to Armin, "Hey, hey are you okay? Armin? Armin what's wrong?" she asked quickly.

"I-I think I'm h-having--" Armin was cut off as she squeezed tightly to the wooden door frame, a smaller scream than last escaping her lips, she breathed hard and sweat was already forming at her brow "Contractions. I'm having contractions."

"Contractions? As in baby contractions? As in your gonna pop out a mini Armin?" Historia's eyes were as big as saucers, _I don't know what to do. Who fucking knows what to do with babies? Like how do you even..._

"Yes, Krista. It's time." Historia looked to the shore line and breathed a sigh of relief. She could see the _Surveyor_ on the horizon.

"Look Armin, they're nearly here, Erwin is nearly here, and so is Hanji!" _You know, your husband and a doctor who knows what the fuck she's doing._

"Krista, it's coming _now_." Armin responded, trying to be gentle about getting the girl to help her get inside and deliver the baby.

"Can't you, you know, like hold it in until they get here?" Historia asked and realized that was not the thing to say. Armin's face was red, not just from pain, but now from the look on her face that said are-you-fucking-kidding-me?

"My baby is not a fucking piss Krista, I can't fucking hold it in! I am having this baby right fucking now and you better fucking get me inside and fucking help me get this creature out of me or so help me I will eat your fucking throat out." Historia never heard Armin curse so much, let alone look as lethal as her words were.

"M-Ma'am yes ma'am," The smaller blonde said as she hooked one of the pregnant woman's arms over her shoulder to help her stand up and get into the small house. Once inside she laid Armin down in the floor, Ymir was there in one of the pools with buckets.

"You'll need warm water," Ymir said as she filled another bucket with warm ocean water.

"Salt water will be okay?" Historia asked.

"Fuck if I know," Ymir responded with, _you are ever so helpful you beautiful jackass._

"Blankets and towels t-too," Armin whispered before she was hit with another contraction and screamed _. I got this, I fucking got this!_ She thought as she rounded up blankets. Armin's breathing was labored and Historia pulled the buckets closer to her and Armin.

"I'll go try to speed up the others, I'll be right back." Ymir said as she dove down again.

"Alrighty," Historia whispered as she tore one of the blankets and soaked in the salt water and wrung it out before placing it on Armin's forehead. She stared at the pregnant woman and swallowed her saliva. _What do I do now?_

*******

Historia gulped in air as she stood outside. Thanks to Ymir's help, Hanji and Erwin got to Armin in time for the baby to actually come, but not before Historia was totally horrified about child birth. The rest of the crew of the _Surveyor_ was either outside like Historia or still on the ship, though that wasn't really needed since the merpeople had their own way to get the ship to the dock that required the merman Bertl's pets... Historia didn't ask what kind of pets they meant.

Finally there was the sounds of a baby crying. Historia turned to see inside the cottage to see the sight of a blonde haired baby wrapped up in a blanket rest in Armin's arms while Erwin sat behind her, his arms were around her in a slight hug. "She has my grandfather's nose," Armin was saying as she booped the baby's hook-like nose.

"She has your hair," Erwin responded with a smile.

And as if on cue the crying baby opened her eyes and the couple said at once "She has your eyes," and both laughed.

 _They are cute. Them and their little baby; Annie was what Armin said they would name the baby if it was a girl, I think._ Historia smiled and looked up at the sky, "Hmm," She muttered as she stared at the grey clouds, "Seems like a storm is coming."

*******

"Seems like a storm is coming," The blonde haired man said as he stared out the window in the grand room. He sat upon a throne made of granite with plush cushions on where he sat, a golden crown rested upon his head. "Aright, bring in the pirate if his news is _that_ important."

Two guards dragged in a bald old man, the man that was once revered for being a terrifying pirate, a pirate that wore such grand finery. He was a pirate people whispered about in fear "Is that Dot Pixis?" they would say, "The captain of the _Maria_?" they would whisper.

Now he was there, before a king's throne in prison garb, _a weak fool._

"Make your case Pixis, I grow tired of your games." The blonde man said.

"Your highness," The infamous pirate began, "I have news."

"I've been told that many times, but I have yet to hear anything from you worthy of the title of 'news,'" The king said.

"Before my ship was destroyed and me and my surviving crew--"

"My surviving crew and I," The king corrected.

"My surviving crew and I escaped on a few life boats," Pixis amended, "we had a stowaway."

"So?"

"Not just any stowaway, it was the Stowaway Thief."

"What do I care about a petty thief." The king asked.

"Well, m'lord, you see I knew the thief."

"And?" The king was growing tired of this game of the pirate's.

"I would recognize that face anywhere. You see, I know who the Stowaway Thief is, and I'll tell you who she is and where to find her if you promise to release my crew, you can still execute me, just release my crew."

The king sighed, "I will only agree if this information is something I truly care about. Enlighten me, pirate, who is this Stowaway Thief?"

"The Stowaway Thief is none other than Historia Reiss." Pixis said.

The king sat up straighter, "Are you certain?"

"Positively certain it was her, m'lord." He said.

"Where is she?"

"Promise my crew will be safe."

The king rolled his eyes, "I promise your crew will be safe."

"When my ship was destroyed, she was taken aboard the _Surveyor_ , and that ship and her captain and crew serve mermaids. I'm positive she is working for 'em now, and she'll eventually go to the Island of the Mer. I can draw you up a map, if you wish m'lord."

"One of my naval captains knows where that island is." The king said, _I know where she is now,_ "Alright, guards, go take him back to his prison cell."

"And release my crew." Pixis said and the king laughed.

"I never said I would release them. Guards, keep Pixis's crew safe until their executions." The pirate's jaw dropped as he was dragged off and the king smiled as he looked out the window again. "Oh Historia, I know where you are, and I am coming."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot? Did that actually have plot? This is going somewhere?


	5. The Bloody Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So you two are gay, but you’re like lady gay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay two things. 1, I apologize for being a lazy turd and taking forever to update. 2, I apologize for this chapter being kind of short, I was planning on it to be longer but if I did that well... It would be really long and yeah long chapters take forever to read.
> 
> Anywho, enjoy kiddos!

Sea breeze assaulted Historia's face as the _Surveyor_ and the vessel's crew came to dock on a small island known as Havoc Cove. The island was just miles off the mainland and it was renowned for its abundance of pirates, though despite Havoc Cove's name the island has always been treated as a sort of peaceful place. No one stole openly on Havoc, nor murdered, or any other such crimes; the island truly was the best place to unload, sell, and restock one's ship (sometimes with a stowaway or two).

The island itself was gorgeous, but because the docks were popular for pirates, and regular sailors as well, the one section of the island was disgusting. Brothels and merchants littered the east end of the island with the docks, and a stench of chamber pots filled the streets because of the constant dumping of them in the streets. Dogs, cats, rats, and the occasional animal stock (such as sheep), always were underfoot when one walked the streets and people were always everywhere; it seemed impossible to find a quiet place in the town.

But Historia wasn't looking for silence.

It had been a month since Armin gave birth to Annie, and a few days since Erwin finally decided that they could not let this lead on the book get passed up. After much planning ("A bit too much planning," Historia had admitted to Ymir), the group had decided that Mike and obviously Armin would stay back on the Island of the Mer while the rest headed out to Havoc Cove. The rest of the plan relied mainly on Historia and Levi.

The lead was simple; the book they were looking for was spotted in the possession of one of the crew members on the _Bloody Rose_.

Finding the ship _Bloody Rose_ wasn't that hard, it was a surprisingly large ship that had one smaller ship that followed it, _Trost_ , (which apparently was supposed to be named _Trust_ but the man who was painting the name upon the ship was a terrible speller and the name was painted incorrectly along the side, which lead to the pronunciation being different and gaining the ship the nickname “ _Trusty Trost_ ” before her maiden voyage).

The _Bloody Rose_ 's captain, Kitts Verman, commanded both ships and _Trost_ was just recently finished and was about to go out on her maiden voyage, "and since there are now two ships, they will need to at least triple their crew." Erwin had said on the _Surveyor_ as he was giving out commands to the crew on their tasks when on Havoc Cove. "Levi, do whatever it is you do to make certain you are a member of the _Bloody Rose_ 's crew. Not _Trost_ , _Bloody Rose_." Levi had rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

 _He's kind of an asshole_ , Historia had reflected.

"Historia, you are to--"

The thief interrupted the older man. "Do my stowaway thief shit and” Historia did her best impression of Erwin, “get on _Bloody Rose_ , not _Trost_ ,” she returned her voice to normal, “yeah I got it. Don't have to tell me twice."

Now she was going to be stuck with Levi on the _Bloody Rose_ when the time comes. _Great. Not that I don't like him or anything he just seems like a major douche. Like Captain Douche. Of SS Douche Bag. But he might be a nice guy... or a douche._

Historia had to sneak off the _Surveyor_ , Levi along with her but as soon as they were off the ship they went their different ways; Levi to the docks to do join the _Bloody Rose_ ’s crew, and Historia towards the merchant area.

Historia passed stalls where merchants shouted praise for whatever the certain stall was selling "I can sell you a great bargain of a ring filled with emeralds! Only 200 gold pieces! Such a deal!" "Would you like to partake in peaches from southern Stohess? Only 15 gold pieces for a basket! Such a deal!" "Furs of a tiger! A pretty girl like you needs a fur cloak! Only 180 gold pieces for one! Such a deal!" Historia ignored them all; she had one place she needed to be. After crossing the merchants’ area, there was one final stall that led into a building, the only place on Havoc Cove that would crate up your purchases and take them to your ship. _Easy target for a good stowaway._

Once Historia stepped into the threshold of the building a fat man approached her. "What d'ya want, girl?"

Historia swallowed her pride and released the most Havoc accent she could "Aye, good sir, ya see me captain told me to go check on the ships’ cargo. Ta make sure it ain't bein' mistreated."

"Aye? And which ship would that be?" The man countered, he leaned downward and Historia could smell the onion from his lunch on his breath. _He's suspicious of me, but he's never met me._

" _Bloody Rose_ and _Trost_ , sir. If it pleases ya, I would suggest ya lead me to check it all."

"Oh yeah? Leave ya all by your lonesome self lookin' at such expensive cargo?"

"Mmm, no. Then me captain would take ya for an idiot and never do business with you again." The fat man laughed, his multiple chins jiggling.

"Smart man; assure yer captain that his cargo is safe with me! I'll lead the way." _Oh yeah, most definitely safe with an imbecile like you._ The man led her through thick oak doors to a dark room that was lighted with lanterns every few feet. "See this is where me men store the crates for the ships." _Wow, never could figure that one out on my own!_ "And such a large cargo, well, we kept that one in the back. Quicker to take out, ya see."

"Mhmm," Historia responded as she ignored his blabbering. She had to think, _so it’s in the back, easier for me to slip in at night unnoticed. Weak lighting, I can use that to my advantage. Probably will need a crowbar unless they haven't packed up everything._ Finally, after crate after crate (and the occasional cage) they reached the back of the building, "And here we are, front is _Bloody Rose_ 's cargo, since there’s so much more meself came up with the idea to keep it in front to get to the captain's first ship quicker."

"It would be quicker to have the _Trost_ 's cargo in front to get that loaded first. It would make your staff look as if they work faster than they are." Historia coughed as she realized she had erred, "I-I mean, if ya want to look like ya are a deceptive business. Such thought on your part! Honesty makes me captain a happy man!"

The man stared at her for a minute, sizing her up, "And why is a man like yer captain sending a little girl to check his cargo?"

The blonde had expected the question and had prepared an answer, it was always the same answer when she dared to check the cargo boxes before she planned her way to get on a ship, "Well he knew a little girl like me could never crack one of these big ol' boxes open and steal anythin', so I was the best for this job."

"Oh. Well, enjoy looking around then. If ya need me, I'mma be sittin' over under the lantern." And look around she did; the _Bloody Rose_ was a ship that would be filled with so much useless object that’s whole purpose was to show off wealth. Now Historia understood pirates' need to have riches, she liked the occasional gold piece herself, but the cargo was ridiculous. One whole cargo container was filled with silks and satins, while beside it were barrel after barrel of wine. _Can't empty out a barrel of wine, I don't slosh like that would..._ Historia walked around, checking labels, "Who labels their cargo this extensively?" She had muttered, each label had what the box contained, which ship it belonged on, where the box went, if any of the object/food/drink went to a specific crew member(s), and so on.

The Stowaway Thief searched for what felt like hours until she found the perfect container. The lid was off and waiting to be sealed, so Historia could look inside. It was filled halfway with animal skins, leaving just enough room where Historia could fit inside and hide under one or two of the skins. And to top it off, it belonged in the cargo hull to await trading on a different island. “Perfect,” She purred.

****************

The night air was thick with humidity, leaving sweat to cling to Historia's brow as she snapped the lock to the back door of the cargo building. She slipped the lock into her sack where she used to put what she got from her plunders, "A damn careless worker!" Historia could hear the fat man curse in her head when he saw the next morning that a worker "forgot" to lock up the back door. She pushed the door open and slipped inside, closing it as quietly as a huge door could be.

Once in she headed for the crate she wanted, it was in the last row of the _Bloody Rose_ 's cargo; her steps were quick and precise on the concrete floor, trying not to make an echo that would alert any security or other employee the building had to her. The thief found her crate quick enough, the lid had been placed on the crate and screws laid atop it for the morning workers.

 _That was so simple_. Historia just had to move the lid over, crawl in, close the lid, and cover herself in the furs. But then it got hot as the furs kept her body heat high and that was added to the summer heat. Darkness was all around her despite a small crack she left at the top for a small amount of light from one of the lanterns. _Just sleep, it will go faster then._

************

_She was in a field that was covered in wildflowers, the sun was shining bright and she was in a pale blue dress. She was six again. She ran and laughed, and when she looked up she saw Richard. A paper crown sat on his blonde head, "Historia!" he shouted, "Look Historia, I am king! You will be my queen!"_

_She giggled, "No Dick!"_

_He laughed, "My name is not Dick, it is Richard."_

_"Dick is short for Richard so you’re a Dick." Richard laughed, but she didn't get the joke._

_"Will you be my queen?" He asked her, he bowed low and held out his hand for her._

_"Hmmm..." She paused and then slapped the outstretched hand, "Nope! I'm gonna be a thief!"_

_"It is said 'I am going to be a thief', and you most certainly are not. You are to be a queen."_

_"I don't wanna be a queen, I wanna to be the most fearsome thief in the world!" She smiled but Richard frowned, his pale face pulled downward made him look much older than he was._

 

 _Richard was older now, and he wore dark clothing._ Mourning clothing, but why? _Historia thought, "You are to be queen. Grow up and stop acting like a child." She frowned, she too was older now, but only by five years_

_"I don't want to be a queen, Dick. I'm happy with how things are."_

_"Well then," Richard turned away from her, "Then you asked for it," something was tossed down to her; it was long and wrapped in cloth and seemed to have appeared from nowhere. "May you receive many more gifts like this until you decide to be a woman and not a little girl."_

_She pulled back the wrappings to see a golden severed tail._

**********

Historia gasped as she was jolted awake. The cargo container was being lifted and carried out of the storage building to the _Bloody Rose_ and Historia knew silence was key at this point, but she couldn't stop loudly gasping for air.

She knew that dream and had it thousands of times, but it was always a head in the cloth not a tail. _Never Ymir's tail. Never Ymir. It was always…_

The blonde gasped for air one last time and began to steady her breathing, _in, one, two, three, four; out, one, two, three, four. Keep quiet. They might pass off the gasping as wind, or maybe they didn't hear me. Please don't hear me. In, one, two, three, four; out, one, two, three, four._

When Historia had regained control of her airways she sat as still as she could, trying her best not to be rocked back and forth by the men carrying the crate. "Last one for _Bloody Rose_!" one of the men carrying the crate called as the box was set down on an incline, slowly inching upwards. J _ust wait until they get me into the hull and I'll get out. Maybe when it's late I can sneak on deck, Ymir said her and Eren would be following the ship underwater. Maybe I can see her and shake that nightmare._

 _God, I want to see her._ Historia thought of the brunette mermaid and flushed slightly. Back on the island their relationship had progressed, so much so others had started to take notice.

“Are you two a couple?” Sasha had finally asked one night, and Ymir was the one who responded with a “mhmm,” as they continued to try to hold hands with no one noticing.

“Wait, I need to process this information.” Connie had said, his golden tail slapping the water, sending up a spray of water droplets that covered the mer people and Historia, “So you two are gay, but you’re like lady gay?”

“Yes Connie, that’s called a lesbian.” Connie huffed and Sasha laughed, her purple scales on her cheeks shining.

“Sasha I was trying to make a joke, you don’t have to a party pooper.” The two had started bickering and dived underwater for the rest of dinner, though the two had showed up again later cracking jokes per the usual.

Historia smiled at the memory as her crate was finally pushed to the top of the incline and onto the deck of the ship. “Hey, you! Yeah you, push this into the cargo hull!” Someone barked a command and after a pause Historia’s crate was moving yet again, but this time downwards.

The blonde kept silent until she was in the hull of the ship and heard a cracking noise, she pushed the furs back and looked up to see the lid of her crate was removed. After what had felt like an eternity she relished the sight of light again, though there was also a pale face that greeted her, one that could only be Levi. “Oi, Krista, try to be cautious and not give us up, okay?” he said before turning away and heading back up a ramp to the deck of the ship.

“Wow, thanks for making sure I was okay.” She said to his receding figure, and she heard a cackle from Levi as she was left alone in the hull. The thief wasn’t in the dark here at least, there was a lantern hanging on a peg so she could at least see everything around her, which wasn’t really amazing. There was boxes and barrels and cages all around her, _I can find food here if I choose too_ , the thief thought as she thought about the time it would probably be at that moment.

_If my calculations are correct… Only eleven hours until its dark out. Only eleven hours until I can see Ymir again._


End file.
